DEENEY WON’T GO BACK TO TRAINING

WATFORD skipper Troy Deeney will not resume training this week because his baby son suffers from breathing difficulties and is at higher risk during the pandemic.

Premier League clubs were given the green light to resume training in small groups this week, but Deeney confirmed he will not be returning.

Deeney (below), who was on the Premier League captain’s call last week, told promoter Eddie Hearn and boxer Tony Bellew on their

Talk the Talk podcast: ‘Within the meeting, I’ve asked very simple questions. For black, Asian and mixed ethnicity (BAME), you’re four times more likely to get the illness and are twice as likely to have long-lasting illnesses.

‘Is there any additional screening, heart stuff to see if anyone has got problems from that? I just said, “If you don’t know the information, why would I put myself at risk?” I feel like that should be addressed.

‘I’ve said I’m not going back in. My son is five months old, he has breathing difficulties, so I don’t want to come home to put him in more danger.’

The club are supportive and feel there is little to gain by making Deeney travel from his home in Warwickshire to take part in small group, non-contact training with social distancing. Watford manager Nigel Pearson told The Times: ‘He’s a human being with a relatively young family. We have to remember it’s about the welfare of players and staff but also people they connect with.’ Deeney added: ‘I definitely want to get back to playing and at some point we need to take a risk, but I just don’t understand why we can’t say the start date is June 26 and work backwards. We have to tick this box, do this, and death rates have to keep coming down. Then we go back to work.’ The Professional Footballers’ Association have written to the UK government and Premier League demanding they carry out more research into the effects of coronavirus on BAME players. The PFA made the request after top-flight stars, such as Deeney, voiced concerns about returning to football amid the pandemic. As Deeney revealed, research conducted by the UK Office for National Statistics shows BAME people are four times more likely to die from the virus than white people.